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Your next car could be completely silent

Thanks to progress in active noise-cancellation in cars, you might find your next car is the quietest place to be

20 August 2012/13:21BST

Tired of the noise of bumps and potholes ruining your otherwise blisfully peaceful drive to work? You're in luck.

Developments in the field of active-noise control (ANC) have resulted in a clever algorithm that can make your drive to work even quieter. Active-noise cancellation systems listen to noises outside the car, such as the rumble of your tyres on tarmac, and balance them out, creating blissful silence in the cabin.

Unfortunately, current systems struggle with random spikes of noise – such as dragging your alloys along a curb as you try to avoid someone who doesn't know the width of their car. But the clever maths behind the new ANC system, which was developed at the University of CinCinnati in Ohio, is designed to cope with these random sounds. The result, claims its creator, will be a 50 per cent reduction of sound in the cabin.

Combine this with the wonders of electric and hybrid cars like the Peugeot RXH 508, and you need never have to suffer the sound of road travel again. Unless you're tooling around in the likes of the McLaren X-1, where the engine noise is half the fun.

Ford will begin trialling the technology next year, likely in its more luxury models. So, no, the Ford KA probably won't be on the list.